Gun holster



March l, 1938.

Filed Oct. 14, 1936 J. PRENETA GUN HOLSTER 2 sheets-snaai 1 3 rvu WVM JOSEPH, PHE/VERA March J. PRENETA GUN HOLSTER Filed Oct. 14, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllll llll l IWW/whoa', DHEA/ETA JOSEPH Patented Mar. l, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to holsters for guns and, more particularly, to a holster for a pistol or revolver.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a gun holster so constructed that the gun may be laterally and quickly removed therefrom land swung into operative position with a minimum of effort.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gun holster which locks the gun in carrying position and prevents accidental discharge of the gun while in its locked position.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a gun holster of simple and effective construction having a manually operab-le release which normally secures the gun Within the holster preventing its accidental disch-arge and which releases the gun from the holster when it is grasped in normal operating position so that it may be instantly disengaged from the holster and laterally swung to a firing position with a single continuous motion.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the feav tures of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplilied in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of my invention and wherein like parts are indicated by like numerals:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my invention showing a revolver supported therein in locked carrying position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of my holster showing the locking mechanism in released position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation of my invention taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and broken away to show the operative positions of various parts;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of my holster;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation view showing the latch parts in their various respective positions; and

Fig. 6 is a view showing the sheath supporting my holster.

In accordance with my invention, I have provided a gun holster adapted to removably support a gun, such as revolver A, so that it may be instantly disengaged from the holster kand laterally swung to operating position with a single continuous motion. The holster, in general, comprises a rigid pressed metal frame Il] complementally shaped to a substantial mating contour with the gun and supported by a flexible sheath I I preferably composed of leather and having a belt loop I2 at its upper end adapted to receive a belt I3 whereby the holster may be conveniently carried. The frame has a manually operable latch, generally indicated at I5, releasably con-A trolled by a lever or finger piece I6 engageable between the trigger and trigger guard of the gun to aid in securing the gun in latched position within the holster yand preventing accidental ring of the gun when it is so secured in position.

Referring to the illustrated form of my invention, the frame I0, which may be composed of a single sheet metal member or of several metal members secured together as desired,r has an elongated, depending, grooved portion I8 adapted to conform with and receive the revolver barrel I8. The upper end of groove I8 merges into a flat wall I9 having a depressed curved section 20 adapted to receive a revolver magazine 28', and a Aflat, substantially horizontal wall 22 extends out-- wardly from the junction of wall I9 and groove I8 to aid in supporting the frame of the revolver.

As shown in Fig. 1, wall I9 terminates at its left-hand side in a curved, outwardly projecting wall 23, conforming with and serving as a guide for the trigger guard, and at its right-hand side in an outwardly projecting wall 23 engageable with and serving as a guide for the frame of the revolver adjacent the magazine. Walls 23 and 23 also extend rearwardly of the plane of wall I9 and into engagement with sheath II to protect the movable parts ofthe latch mechanism and evenly support the holster. If desired, the gun receiving portions of the frame may be suitably coated with leather or fabric to avoid scratching of the gun and to cushion it in position. The sides and bottom of frame IIJ adjacent groove I8 are provided with a laterally projecting ange 24 adapted to be slidably engaged within and supported by a pocket 24 in the lower end of sheathk II., as illustrated in Fig. 1. This pocket may be formed as by stitching strips of leather in super-v imposed relation (Fi-g. 6). If desired, aligned holes may be provided through flange24and sheath I I, and rivets may be inserted therethrough to secure said members together.

The lower end of groove I8 terminates in a shoulder 25, and a coiled compression spring 25 secured at its lower end to this shoulder extends upwardly within the groove. A cup-shaped member 28 receiving the upper end of the spring is slidably mounted within groove I8 and secured in position by means of a pin 21 slidably engaging within a slot 28 longitudinally disposed at the bottom of the groove. 'I'his pin is preferably fastened to the cup and provided with a head on its rearward end loosely overlying the sides of slot 28 so that the cup member is secured in position and limited in its longitudinal movement, as shown in Fig. 5. A somewhat tapering cylindrical boss 29 projecting from the top of the cup slidably fits within and locates the muzzle end of the gun barrel, as shown in Fig. 1. Spring 25 is preferably of suii'icient compressional strength to normally support the gun with its frame slightly above shoulder 22.

I have also provided a manually operable latch mechanism which firmly secures the gun within frame |U for quick release therefrom and prevents accidental pulling of the trigger when the gun is in its secured position. `To accomplish this, I provide a locking member 3| laterally slidable within the rearward portion of frame I beneath section 20 and having an overlying hooked end portion 3|' adapted to fit over the gun frame between the barrel and the magazine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. Member 3| p-asses through a slot in wall 23 and is slidably supported at its opposite edges by overlying frame portions 32 and 33. In the present instance, the upper edge of member 3| is reinforced by a iiange 32' slidably engaging frame portion and normally tends to move outwardly from'frame ID to a disengaged position 3|" (Fig. 51) under influence of a spring 35 secured at one end to the frame and engageable at its other end with a lug 36A on member 3|.

Member 3| is also provided with a bent over, tapering latch portion 31 adapted to snap into latched engagement with a projecting arm l 6 of finger piece I6 and be held in closed position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. The finger piece I6 is mounted for pivotal movement through an aperture 38. in wall I9 through` the instrumentality of a pivot pin 39, and a coiled spring 42 on this pivot pin engages wall I9 and finger piece I6 tending to normally swing the finger piece outwardly from wall I9, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and between the trigger T and trigger guard T of the gun, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of finger piece I6 terminates in a shoulder |16" engageable with the trigger guard T' so that as the gun is depressed against the action of'spring 25', shoulder I6 may spring into latched position to secure the gun frame substantially against shoulder 22 with the gun in mating relation to the various depressed portions of the frame. While the gun is being inserted into the holster and held against shoulder 22, member 3| is pressed into closed overlying position with the frame and latch portion 3l snaps into latched position with arm I6', thus securely holding and locking the gun within the holster. It will be noted that finger piece I6 sufliciently fills the space between the trigger and trigger guard at this time to prevent operation of the trigger without releasing the gun from the holster since finger piece I6 must be depressed before the trigger can be operated.

I have also provided a lever 43Y adapted to laterally engage the trigger guard when the gun is locked within the holster and to aid in securing the gun from falling from supportedposition. Lever 43iis pivoted intermediate of its ends as by a pin '44 to wall 23 and is provided with a long arm 43 terminating in a laterally projecting lip 45, and a short arm 43 engageable with the latching end of member 3|. When member 3| is moved toa closed position, it engages arm 43" and pivotally swingslever 43 so that lip 45 laterally overlies the trigger guard adjacent finger piece I6, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5. When the linger piece is disengaged to quickly withdraw the gun from the holster and member 3| springs to its inoperative position 3|', lever 43 swings to the inoperative position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. under the iniiuence of gravity. 1f desired, it will be appreciated that a spring 43a may also be provided to normally urge this lever to an inoperative position. A guard plate 46 is secured to wall 23 in overlying relation with lever 43 to prevent accidental tampering with the leven In the operation of my device, it will be evident that the gun may be quickly and easily entered into mating engagement with the frame, and member 3|, finger piece I6 and lip 45 will cooperatively serve to iirmly lock the gun in position. W'hen the operator desires to quickly draw the gun, it is simply necessary to grasp it in normal operating position and, as. his trigger nger enters. between thev trigger guard and the trigger, the gun will be instantly released from .the holster, and he may swing it laterally and upwardly to a firing position with asingle continuous movement.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A gun holster comprising a pressed metal frame complementally receiving a gun, a locking member slidably mounted in the fram-e for linear movement and having a portion overlying said gun and securing it within the frame only when in locked position, means tending to shift the member to an unlocked position, a latch on said member, a finger piece pivotally mounted on the frame and adapted to enter into latched engagement with said member to releasably secure it in locked position, said linger piece lying in the path of the trigger finger movement when the gun is operatively grasped whereby the gun may be released from the holster and laterally swung to an operative position with a single continuous l movement while held in normal operating position.

2. A holster of the class described comprising a frame having depressed portions adapted to laterally receive a gun, a sheath supporting said frame and having an aperture therethrough whereby the holster may be conveniently carried upon a belt, a locking member slidable in the frame and having a bent over portion at one end movable into and out of gun engagement, a spring urging said member out of gun engagement, a finger piece pivotally mounted on the frame between the trigger and trigger guard and adapted toV enter into latched engagement with said member and releasably maintain it in gun engagement, a shoulder on the finger piece normally adapted to engage the trigger guard and aid in securing the gun within the holster, and means resiliently urging the finger piece into latching position whereby the nger piece may be operated with the gun grasped in normal operating position to release the gun from the holster so that it may be instantaneously and laterally swung therefrom.

3. In a gun holster, a frame complementally receiving a gun, a spring pressed member mounted at the lower end of the frame engaging the muzzle of the gun, a locking member slidably mounted for lateral movement on the frame into and out of overlying engagement with the gun to removably secure the gun within the frame, means tending to shift said member out of gun engagement, a linger piece pivotally mounted on the frame in position to engage the trigger guard to aid in securing the gun Within the holster and adapted to enter into latched engagement with said member and removably secure it in overlying gun engagement, resilient means normally urging the linger piece into latching position, and a lever pivotally mounted on the frame in the path of locking member movement, said lever being adapted to overlie a portion of the gun frame when said member is in closed position and normally tending to swing out of engagement with said gun frame.

4. A gun holster comprising a frame, a locking member slidably mounted on the frame for movement into and out of a locked position and arranged to engage the gun and secure it to the frame when in said locked position, means urging said member out of gun engagement to an unlocked position, and a release member on the frame arranged to disengage the locking member from said gun.

5. A gun holster comprising a frame, a locking member slidably-mounted on the frame for movement to a locked position in which it overlies a portion of the gun and secures the gun to said frame and to an unlocked position out of gun engagement, means urging said member to an unlocked position, a release lever removably securing said member in locked position and having a nger piece adjacent the gun trigger which prevents firing of the gun when in said holster and which releases the gun from the holster so that it may be laterally and quickly swung therefrom to a firing position when grasped in a normal operative position.

6. A gun holster comprising a frame for complementally receiving a gun, a locking member slidably mounted on the frame for linear movement to locked and unlocked positions and overlying a portion of the gun when in the locked position, said member lying completely out of gun engagement when in said unlocked position, means tending to shift said member to an unlocked position, and a manually operable release lever engageable with the trigger guard of the gun forwardly of the trigger and arranged to disengage said member from locked position whereby the gun may be grasped in normal operativeV engagement with said portion to removably se-- cure the member in locked gun engagement, and said lever having a finger piece located between the trigger and trigger guard and preventing firing of the gun when it is mounted in theV holster.Y

8. A gun holster comprising a frame complementally receiving a gun, a support movably mounted on the frame and resiliently engaging the muzzle of the gun, a locking member slidable on the frame to locked and unlocked positions and having a hooked portion overlying a portion of the gun' when in said locked position, resilient means urging the member to an unlocked position out of gun engagement, a latch portion on said member, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on the frame and Vreleasably latching with said member to secure it in locked position, and a spring urging the lever into latching position, said lever having a portion lying in the path of the operators trigger finger when the gun is grasped in normally operating position'whereby thegun may be quickly disengaged from the holster and laterallyrswung to a firing position with a continuous movement. 1

9. In a gun holster, a frame complementally receiving a gun, means on the frame supporting the gun, a locking member slidably mounted on the frame for lateral movement into and out of overlying engagement with the gun toremovably secure the gun within the frame, means urging said member out of gun engagement, a nger piecepivotally mounted on the frame and arranged to enter into latched engagement with said member and removably secure it in overlying gun engagement, means normally urging the finger piece into a latching position, a lever pivotally mounted on the frame in the path of movement of said member and arranged to overlie a portion of the gun frame when said member is in gun engagement, and means normally urging said lever out of gun engagement.

JOSEPH PRENETA. 

